Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126278
'" .. .... . ..... . ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::!:!:::f!:::::!:!:!:!::: ::::'::':,:::,, : : : : : (A bo v e) " T he first guy I see not taking that li ne is gonna run around it 25 t imes." (left) Sideline signals let t he ri ders know'what to' do . (Bel o w left) When t he teacher rides a Husky. people listen. Russ Darnell MX Schools Smokin' in 't he classroom By Brian George If you're like most of us weekend m otocr oss racers, you are more tha n likely very fa m iliar : a nd extremely sick of those horrendous 26 " Mo n d a y m orning miseries." You kn ow , those ever so frequent aches and a sso st e d pa ins , and t he tot a lly ravish ing strawberries a ll over selective pans of your bod wh ich you rec ei ved while tearin g up yOUf local track . hen . trying tha t ultra -trick lin e you thought u p to pass eve n the hottest shoes on the co u rse (b ut d id n't qu ite m ake it) . Then you go hom e , a ll ba nged up . wak e up the next m orn ing a nd wonder " Wha t in ih e heck ca n I do to reli eve t he ole b od y o f suc h h a r sh punishment ?" W ell now , here in th e pages of Cycl e N ews, we have co me u p with t he closest th ing to a so lutio n . It 's the R uss Darnell School of Mot ocross! The sc hoo l is b a se d aroun d P ro fessor Russ a nd hi s ex te ns ive kn owledge in th e fiel d of motocross co m petitio n , a nd is sponsored b y Husq va rn a . Ru ss is a lo ngtim e .Arneri ca n rno tocrosser , and whe n you hea r of Iris racin g totals, yo u wil quickly u ndersta nd why he ca n teac so well. Raci ng from 1,953 up unti 1976, Ru ss has co mpeted in over 5 .00 ra ces throughout Eu rope and th Uni ted Sta tes, H e spent a co up le of hi ra c ing yea rs battl ing with t h Europeans o n th eir own turf, and wa. really pl eased with h is results. Ru placed in the top six in every ra ce i Eu ro pe in 1970 . And d id all thi s'rid in add up in h is fav orl Currently. he i teach ing the United States ISDT tea to m otocross because of the st ron emphasis o n th e specia l tests this year. That. is a ll a t R uss' expense . by th way. A few of th e b igge r rnotocrossin names that have co me out of. hi. sch ool s a re Ill inois 500cc S t at Champion Don VanHoozer , Souther Cal ifornia's hottest upcom ing rid e Mike Bell , a nd the fo urt h fasres wo man in t he n ati on . Bar b a r " Sp ielman. T he class whic h I attended was a two -day school in July at Sad dleb ac Park. in Southern California. T his is a popular spot for a lot of th e ho tt est riders throughout th e state a nd m ad an exce llent teachi ng grou nd. And since R uss stresses that all new racin ho pefuls spend m ore tim e sitting and wat ching than playIng around o n th track , ther e were plenty of lines and styles to o bserve a nd c hoose fro m , fo each rid er's fa ncy . And ., of cou rse , th er e is the ever so smooth style of Ru ss h imsel f. He is one of the few who can go ou t on almost a ny give n day, any track . a nd nail the q uick est lines around th e circui t. And he will do this in th esame tim e it ta kes m ost rid er s just to fini sh pract ice! . • On Mond ay m ornin g en tries,a n , fees wer e sorted o ut , a nd you receive bu nc h of littl e goo dies given to Russ t pass o nto th e class. When the signup are over , the professor exits his bi m o tor ho m e and rounds up t h st udents . First o n the list of thing> to learn wa. stopp in g dista nces . how to pl a y a fre a ky game with you r fron t brak e .